The New York Times, April 24, 1998, p. D2.
Cellular Phone Groups to Sue Over Wiretapping Regulations
By John Markoff
Two cellular telephone industry groups plan to file a
lawsuit today seeking to narrow the Government's
interpretation of 1994 legislation intended to help law
enforcement agencies listen in on the phone calls of
suspected criminals.
Industry executives and civil liberties advocates contend
that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking for
regulations under the 1994 law that would give the agency
broad new wiretapping powers while forcing consumers to pay
for expanded surveillance features through increased rates.
The lawsuit, which industry executives said they would file
in United States District Court in Washington comes a month
after the Justice Department and the F.B.I. broke off
negotiations with industry executives over wiretapping
capabilities and over who will pay for extensive
modifications the Government contends is necessary to fight
crime in the digital era.
Officials at the Justice Department and the F.B.I. have
said that the development of a wide range of new features
that have been added to telephones and the emergence of
wireless networks have made their ability to conduct
surveillance more difficult. The officials contend that
they are only trying to maintain their current ability to
wiretap suspected criminals with court authorization.
The dispute stems from the Communications Assistance for
Law Enforcement Act, which Congress passed in 1994 to
preserve law enforcement's electronic surveillance
capabilities. The law requires telephone carriers to insure
that Government agencies would still be able to conduct
surveillance over wireless phone systems despite the
development of advanced communications technologies.
Industry executives and law enforcement authorities were
required to work out a set of guidelines under the law,
which authorized $500 million for upgrading existing
switching equipment.
But industry executives and civil liberties advocates say
these guidelines go beyond the scope of the law.
"This can only be described as bait and switch from what
the F.B.I. told Congress, consumers and the industry in
1994," said Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association, a Washington-based
trade group. The association is being joined in its suit by
the Personal Communications Industry Association, which
represents companies developing a variety of digital
cellular telephone networks.
The industry groups contend that because what the F.B.I. is
asking for would cost far more than the $500 million
allocated by Congress, the F.B.I. has redefined its
definitions of what equipment should be covered to force
the cellular phone industry to pay for many upgrades.
The dispute centers on equipment installed before Jan. 1,
1995, and whether it is should be modified at taxpayer or
industry cost.
"That $500 million isn't enough for what they want to do,
so they have to play hide the pea," Mr. Wheeler said.
F.B.I. officials said yesterday that they were merely
trying to require industry to meet the letter of the law.
"The law is very clear with regard to what was authorized
for reimbursement and what was not," said Barry Smith, an
F.B.I. spokesman.
The dispute over wiretapping between the cellular telephone
industry and the Government is also continuing on other
fronts. Last month, the F.B.I. turned to the Federal
Communications Commission in an effort to force industry to
adopt a series of controversial regulations that would
expand the agency's capabilities. The F.C.C. will likely
rule on the dispute later this year.
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